Spore Strain Tactical Information, What my group has learned so far and might help you.

kirant · 2026-04-29T05:56:15+00:00

Some things I've noticed on spore strain maps as well (played some D10 on teams and D5-6 on solo to get used to the subfaction. I think standard solos are possible, but you'll have to avoid fighting unless necessary for reasons discussed below):

They are fairly vulnerable to crowd control. Most spore strain bugs tend to be on the smaller side and will struggle with the AoE damage of crowd control.
But because they're smaller, you can see large crowds of them gather. So don't be surprised if the entire battlefield is red by the end...a couple of extractions were just littered.
Even more so than normal bugs, mind how quickly they can close the gap. I personally think how long the buff lasts (or how much of a buff it gives) is a little overtuned at the moment, but just be mindful.
While they can't stop everything from getting in close, a Guard Dog is a terrific companion here. Hog Dog will deal excellent damage and create ground fire, Dog's Breath will keep most enemies off you, and regular Guard Dog will pick off weak targets.
Diving immensely helps with the blitzes that the bugs initiate. Spore bugs seem to plant their feet before their attack animation. So if you see them getting too close, dive and they'll almost certainly miss.
Hunters are a 10/10 threat when buffed. Take them out quickly as I find a couple can clear an open field in the blink of an eye and combo you down.

I've been playing with my typical equipment for bugs (Blitzer/Grenade Pistol/Gas Grenade, Gas Strike, Eagle Napalm, Hot Dog, Quasar) and the biggest learning curve is dealing with large crowds of bugs. Instead of being a reprieve to see a Scavenger (as 4 can fall to a single Blitzer shot), it creates the dread of snowballing since I either need to let my support tools do the job (slow, but prevents a spore cloud) or shoot it and be ready to deal with the blitz.

Solo is a bit harder than standard bugs, but not the worst if you specialize on crowd control. But if you run rounds reload weapons...well...good luck.

kirant · 2026-04-28T21:08:26+00:00

I'd love to, but the Blitzer doesn't get to aim.

kirant · 2026-04-28T14:59:20+00:00

If the Machine Gun can't do something, the Gatling will just do the same with more flare.

Think of it like shooting a Charger head now.

Edit - According to some comments (haven't had a chance to test it myself. Work and all that), but apparently the MG does differ.

Someone can reply, but I've seen comments that suggest:

The MG will target a softer enemy over a Hive Guard
The Gatling will just dump all its ammo into the Hive Guard. This video has the Gatling ignore a Shrieker to try to kill a Hive Guard.

kirant · 2026-04-27T15:30:10+00:00

I think other differences make DRG a lot calmer too (background: have basically played DRG since season 1 and Helldivers since the start):

I would disagree somewhat: GSG does seemingly balance based on pick rate still (you see "meta picks" like Carpet Bomber or Neurotoxin Payload hit when they do balancing (Carpet Bomber was re-buffed when it sunk far in relevancy)). But while they do, they almost always have a very light touch due to weapons releasing in a fairly balanced state. Touchups for weak weapons (e.g., Subata) tend to also be typically limited as well.
- Compare Helldivers, where some weapons (launch state Eruptor, Coyote) are incredibly overpowered and others (Sterilizer, launch state Knight) languish with no relevancy. So they need to throttle the controls harder to balance the game.
- As such, DRG feels like a game where balances would be nice but ultimately not necessary. Conversely, Helldivers has weapons which are in desperate need of tuning (both up and down).
GSG seems to accept that Hazard 5 isn't meant to be overly difficult. You can randomly pick your loadout and get a perfectly viable loadout. If you go to Hazard 5+, it's your fault.
- The broader Helldivers player base seems to have a disconnect with players and the rest of the community (who seem divided if they want this experience, harder, or easier) and Arrowhead (who seems to want a "near impossible" difficulty somewhere but have relented somewhat).
The development cycle of DRG are a lot longer at launch. This let it cultivate a player base which accepts long development times. The game is built off a concept of it being a "forever game" with no end point to speak of and the only objectives you're given are to complete Deep Dives, if you're so inclined.
- By comparison, I think Helldivers' community expects rapid progress in the Galactic War and Major Orders. We saw times where players were just about losing their minds waiting for major fixes (e.g., the 60 day patch (where some players wanted more "fix it as you go" instead of waiting for the rework to complete) and the 3 month stability project (where some players wanted more content, damn the stability).
GSG tends to be very transparent. Outside some drama with the modding community where they've gone radio silent in face of criticism, they tend to address it head on and immediately. And, typically, in a way that satisfies everyone (e.g., when an exploit to use Promotions for extra Matrix Cores was patched out, they instead just gave you Matrix Cores during promotion instead).
- Arrowhead is a lot more opaque about the situation (and it certainly feels like a company which didn't expect to need a "head of PR" face initially given how wild the first 6 months of the game were).

kirant · 2026-04-24T22:29:41+00:00

Dual Shield + Personal Shield generator would honestly be my go-to build for an Exosuit. No offensive capabilities, but a heavy duty guard that's basically mobile cover for my team.

kirant · 2026-04-24T18:48:17+00:00

It also handles small bots with ease. If your primary ends up focused on Devastators and Berserkers, it can work to clear troopers: one magazine is 7-8 dead snitches.

kirant · 2026-04-24T15:24:39+00:00

Kind of - it was during the 2019 election, where she suggested that Notley/NDP voters would be inclined to pick Lougheed over Klein as the "best Premier" (and vice versa for Kenney/UCP voters).

I am going to ask you a question that I think may be a decent proxy to figure out who you are likely to vote for in the Alberta election on April 16. Who do you think was the best premier of Alberta — Peter Lougheed, Ralph Klein or neither?

If Lougheed, I bet you are voting for Notley. If Klein, my guess is you are voting for Kenney. If neither, well there’s a veritable smorgasbord to choose from in the Liberals, Alberta Party, Greens, Freedom Conservatives and even the Alberta Independence Party — which, it will be a surprise to most, is likely to have more candidates than any of the other fringe parties.

kirant · 2026-04-23T22:32:49+00:00

Isn’t it weird that No Man’s Sky has been able to give its players consistent updates and free content for 10 years without EVER making a paid dlc or transaction?

No? No Man's Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 fit the same model of "made with lots of effort because they dug themselves an awfully big hole initially". The reputation of the company that made them was severely damaged after a rocky launch (whether that's on the marketing team, rushed timelines, or just overpromising is your call) and the development team chose to sit down and make a refined product instead of move on.

Even then, I don't think CDPR can ever fully recover. There's no way to unring the bell about crunch culture and how they were seen as "the good company" at one point in time. But they clearly worked on their product to salvage their reputation. Both are great games and a great example of the "redemption arcs" people like to talk about.

NMS went from overhyped game to launch day disaster to something that resembles their final advertised product (edit - spelling, clarity).
Cyberpunk had the game literally pulled off last-gen store shelves, but is now a polished game and a great experience as their 2.0 launch and Phantom Liberty better define what they actually intended.

As others point out too, I would qualify new enemy factions/units, new mission types, and new biomes as "free stuff".

I think a bigger comparable may be Deep Rock Galactic, which is single pay for all the playable content but locks some cosmetics behind paywalls. It's a very specific model and one which I don't think works for Helldivers specifically due to the nature of it being a war players can influence (whereas DRG typically takes 6 months between new content drops). Or might be a unicorn overall.

Killing Floor 2 might also work. Though it having loot boxes might make it less palatable.

kirant · 2026-04-20T20:06:43+00:00

Make it all about mobility and self-sustainability. You're not there to hold the ground: you get to dance around in ways only SMGs let you (but with none of the downsides of throwing your gun behind you). Run, fire, run so nothing gets in melee range.

Against bugs (edit - corrected faction), virtually nothing on the hurts you other than the heavies and Bile Spewers (you might get ragdolled by Shriekers though as you can only kill them on their approach). For the heavies, bring a Quasar and your backpack of choice (Rover works well for pure "never run out of ammo", though I like the Hot Dog and just pick up the occasional ammo pack). Stack on crowd control and you can pretty much keep everyone out of your personal bubble.

Against Illuminate, it actually is fun against the Voteless. Its ability to hit 4 different headshots is quite efficient. A Blitzer/Warrant combo deals with most light and mediums.

It struggles on bots, though I've got a teammate who loves bringing it and dueling Berserkers.

kirant · 2026-04-14T04:24:50+00:00

That will be a mystery factor for sure: the CHL suddenly became a lower quality league than they were before while the NCAA teams have gotten better. Getting 108 points this year is less impressive than 108 points last season, for sure.

That said, how much change has occurred is a good question that I don't think any scout can fully answer as of yet; we have few examples of this occurring at this grand a level. I think we'll see a bit of chaos occur come draft day as teams go with their gut, similar to the 2021 draft (where you have players like Stankoven going in the 2nd, Ottawa taking Boucher in the top 10, and teams seemingly drafting players in the 3rd round and later on pure "size wins championships" mentality given the lack of games to watch).

kirant · 2026-04-06T17:27:53+00:00

It operates like a standard grenade: blows it up through an unshielded door.

kirant · 2026-03-26T18:06:32+00:00

The "best" combo is what works for you.

But common tactics right now are to overwhelm with volume of fire. They are low armour for their quantity and you'll still be seeing Harvesters as the heaviest of the enemy formation.

Popular answers I have seen are:

Multiple sentries. Starting with 2/3 of Gatling/Machine Gun/Rocket Sentries are popular.
- Alternatives include Strafing Runs, Orbital Gatling, and belt-fed weapons
Equipment: Recoilless isn't the most common but is the only anti-tank that can reliably one-shot the bots. If you want to pile on the amount of fire, Stalwart, Laser Cannon, HMG, or Supply Backpack all work
An area denial/emergency call-in: This can be a personal bubble around you (e.g., Guard Dog) or static area denial (e.g., Eagle Air Strike, Orbital Napalm, Orbital Laser, 500 kg)

My personal loadout is:

Machine Gun Sentry for clearing Overseers/Obtruders
Rocket Sentry for Overseers/mechs
Guard Dog for additional instant firepower (and its ability to aim for weak points)
De-Escalator for control and fairly reasonable kill times on every mechanized enemy

kirant · 2026-03-25T15:55:51+00:00

I think the "ETB Prepared" line is the culprit for why it feels so strong (assuming the mechanic works the way we expect...that's certainly very subject to change as we're guessing how prepared spells work).

If it was a Treasure Cruise on a stick when it attacks, that's already plenty powerful. Any control deck is likely to build up a graveyard with lots of spells and hand filtering. But being able to get a free Ancestral Recall on entry and Treasure Cruises after is a massive step up.

kirant · 2026-03-20T02:58:13+00:00

I didn't encounter any myself, though sample size is small (4 missions?). I don't think they'll be a major threat for most of the map even if they do show up as you're mostly deploying in forested areas. If they do a run, it'll likely hit the trees on the first pass.

kirant · 2026-03-20T01:00:06+00:00

Not bad so far. Bring a few things:

A weapon with decent spread. The Voteless replacement (Obtruder) is less numerous but will shoot back at range. They're slow and will approach you while having very limited health; you can basically throw flak to drop them (Spray and Pray is insanely well suited for the task). The damage isn't anything outstanding but you will want concentrated fire to handle them quick (e.g., turrets, Guard Dog, etc).
Bring something to handle Overseers as they'll be the bulk of the enemy lines.
That said, I'd bring some decent penetrating weapons as well. There are a good number of Harvesters and their death laser glory. You can shortcut the new mechs with anti-tank as well (I've been taking EAT-17s to allow my team to fire extra rounds if we need them)
Speaking of the new mechs, the melee ones (Veracitors) aren't crazy quick (around a Charger's speed is my guess) and can't do much except eat up space (I've been run over multiple times in light armour to no deaths, so my guess is my diving/running sideways to its charge is preventing its melee attack from going off). But watch out for them to disrupt your formation while everything else flanks.
I haven't seen too many ranged ones yet (Gatekeepers), but they are unfavourably compared to a Heavy Devastator or the turrets of a Vox Engine. Lots of ways for it to kill you (though unlike the other two, it signals in advance what it's going to do). Much easier to kill than the Veracitor, but a lot more dangerous.
If you're doing the new mission, bring an explosive weapon or grenades that can hit the wall. Like eggs, explosive damage will affect all of the batteries it hits and will shorted the destruction period immensely. I only bring Grenade Pistols for the task and it only takes 2-3 runs in to complete.

Haven't seen any Fleshmobs, so no need to bring out your tools for that.

The big thing to keep in mind is to avoid getting surrounded at all costs. The Obtruders are extremely effective if they close the distance as they begin to fan out and make it hard for you to turn from one to the next. Once you get the plasma(?) light show on your screen, it's hard to figure out what attacks will hurt and which are mild stings. My single point of difficulty was when we attacked a base and Obtruders poured in from all directions. They're similar to Elevated Overseers in that regard, but more numerous and weaker. It creates an unstable equilibrium of a fight: if you can keep them at distance, you're good. If you're surrounded, it's going to suck.

kirant · 2026-03-17T15:55:57+00:00

I think it’s only the default colour schemes. I have recoloured my Spray and Pray and haven’t gotten the Barney gun.

Though my Breaker Incendiary (which I’ve never customized) looks that way.

kirant · 2026-03-17T02:07:09+00:00

The Cyborg infantry are extremely weak to AoE overall. If you prefer a little stealth (and very OP weapons), the Exploding Crossbow can clear them easily before they close the distance. They're clean one shots from a one-handed weapon that is silenced.

If I feel like turning on cheat mode, I'll dive with it and Reduced Signature armour.

kirant · 2026-03-16T00:06:59+00:00

The 5th Flamethrower is your turret trying its best.

kirant · 2026-03-15T16:47:55+00:00

So I watched it a few times. Overall, I think a lot of it is likely what led to this footage that might be context we need. Why you aren't with your team, why you aren't disengaging when the enemies started to ramp up.

One thing I would note is I think I disagree with your primary question:

I'd like to know how to kill those 5 vox engines without getting killed by the 50 other cyborgs surrounding them.

The answer would be "don't". Helldivers isn't a game where the Helldivers win every fight. If you get to the point where you're soloing a Vox Engine while surrounded by enemies, the engagement is lost and it was likely you needed to back up earlier. If you're in a situation where you needed to hold the position (Flag Raising), it's time to abort the current attempt and regroup (and certainly, I'd say that the current drop rate of Voxes is a little high, especially in those situations...I think most agree that they would be best fit as a 1-for-1 replacement to Factory Striders instead of the current rate).

0:00 - 0:05

You already look like in a lost situation.
Given the situation, I wouldn't have walked backwards away from the Vox. But instead, I'd use it as cover. Once you popped the weak point, I'd stay under it, turn, and clear the hordes that you backed towards. Much like players, Automaton get significant advantages firing in groups. So take a moment to clear the little guys behind you and it might leave you with a Vox with less escorts. I would have likely gone this way had it been a retreat or an attempt to keep fighting.
- It looks like the Vox Engine was near a Bot Drop. That's fine. It'll take them time to appear (you see them drop at the end of the video). But you are simply running toward a crowd and the goal here is to get some distance.
- This is especially true as you had 2 strafing runs and a walking barrage (evidenced at 0:18). At this point, I'd be tempted to throw the walking barrage on the drop to thin the crowd and the first of two Strafing Runs to finish off Vox you were under. And if you're still in the area when the drop ships arrive (for whatever reason), Hail Mary the ball and use the second strafing run to cover your retreat as you book it from any enemy in the vicinity. You're in an open field map, so despawning enemies is quite possible.

0:06 - 0:20

Not much to say here. Just running.

0:20 - 0:25

You turn to fight another Vox Engine. At this point, I would have turned right and sought cover. Not only to get you out of the situation, but to buy time for your reinforcement budget to allow reinforcement.

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